Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glenrothes and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,416 in Glenrothes, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Glenrothes
Learn more

Glenrothes Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Glenrothes

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,416

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Glenrothes and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Glenrothes and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,416 in Glenrothes versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Glenrothes $2,416
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,465 in Glenrothes versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Glenrothes $3,465
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,514 in Glenrothes versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Glenrothes $4,514
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Glenrothes is roughly 101% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Glenrothes is 78% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.03 £11.23

$10.92 MX$205

37.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 £46.82

$43.37 MX$815

44.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.81

$11.78 MX$221

-11.29%

Cappuccino

$3.77 £2.82

$3.81 MX$71.6

-1.05%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 £1.91

$1.28 MX$24.10

99.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 £1.58

$0.78 MX$14.71

170.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.09 £5.30

$3.17 MX$59.5

123.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.61 £4.19

$4.93 MX$92.7

13.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.41 MX$26.43

5.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 £1.32

$2.22 MX$41.66

-20.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.42 MX$26.64

36.62%

Eggs

$4.40 £3.29

$2.52 MX$47.41

74.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.51 £6.36

$7.26 MX$137

17.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.08 £9.02

$7.70 MX$145

56.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.51

$12.69 MX$239

31.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.23

$2.78 MX$52.3

7.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 £1.01

$1.37 MX$25.71

-0.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$2.55 MX$47.94

12.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 £2.87

$2.12 MX$39.90

81.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.94 MX$36.43

-11.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 £1.07

$1.89 MX$35.44

-23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.15 MX$21.55

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.25

$1.18 MX$22.16

42.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.76 £16.25

$4.30 MX$80.7

406.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 £8.36

$9.95 MX$187

12.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 £1.99

$1.58 MX$29.76

68.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.29

$2.67 MX$50.2

14.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.65 £2.72

$0.55 MX$10.40

563.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.9 £72.4

$26.62 MX$500

264.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 £3.07

$4.97 MX$93.4

-17.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$3.33 MX$62.6

-29.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.11 £18.01

$5.36 MX$101

349.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.44 MX$27.14

29.86%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.8K £29.0K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

87.75%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.1K £30.0K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

70.86%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$401 £300

$84.8 MX$1,594

373.06%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$27.44 £20.50

$23.41 MX$440

17.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.18 £31.51

$28.66 MX$539

47.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.60 £34.81

$57.1 MX$1,072

-18.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$11.38 £8.50

$5.14 MX$96.6

121.40%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,756 £1,312

$207 MX$3,882

749.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.3K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

489.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.3 £72.0

$43.35 MX$815

122.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.89 £35.77

$41.44 MX$779

15.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.4

$74.2 MX$1,394

39.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.0

$89.3 MX$1,677

27.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £901

$980 MX$18.4K

23.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 £748

$381 MX$7,157

162.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,101 £1,569

$1,708 MX$32.1K

22.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 £1,251

$1,075 MX$20.2K

55.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,047 £3,770

$3,943 MX$74.1K

28.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,863 £2,886

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-37.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,326 £2,485

$735 MX$13.8K

352.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Glenrothes: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Glenrothes

$1K 41.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 62% $620

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glenrothes

$471 19.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 70.9% $334

Groceries & Markets

Glenrothes

$323 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 21% $68

Eating Out

Glenrothes

$262 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 22.8% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Glenrothes

$163 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 31.3% $51

Getting Around

Glenrothes

$127 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 60.4% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Glenrothes

$69 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 2.9% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,206 in Glenrothes and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Glenrothes pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $63 in Glenrothes vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glenrothes

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:11 11:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

5 h behind Glenrothes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,277

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Glenrothes Playa del Carmen 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Glenrothes
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Glenrothes vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Glenrothes is about 4.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,206 in Glenrothes versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $63 in Glenrothes. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,416 per month in Glenrothes versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,416 in Glenrothes, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Glenrothes. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Glenrothes. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.